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COLORADO GOP PRESS OFFICE

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – Colorado GOP Chairman Steve House released the following statement on Bernie Sanders’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton:

“Bernie Sanders had extremely strong grassroots support in Colorado, and many supporters here will justly feel betrayed by this hollow endorsement,” said Colorado GOP Chair Steve House.

“One of the reasons Sanders had such strong support is the vast majority of Coloradans of both parties consider Clinton to be dishonest. Unfortunately for Clinton, Sanders selling out to the rigged system he campaigned against will do absolutely nothing to address her massive trust deficit in Colorado.”

BACKGROUND:

A strong plurality of Colorado Clinton supporters say Hillary Clinton is not doing enough to listen to the concerns of Sanders supporters. “17. Is Hillary Clinton listening enough to the concerns of Bernie Sanders and his backers? Yes 25% No 43% It doesn’t matter whether she does or not 32% (“CBS News 2016 Battleground Tracker Colorado,” CBS/YouGov Battleground Tracker, June 21-24 2016)

Democrats are worried about low Clinton support among Sanders backers. “Shortly after meeting with Clinton on Capitol Hill Wednesday, party leaders were asked whether it’s a big problem for Democrats that Sanders still has yet to endorse Clinton, and that a recent poll indicated that many Sanders backers remain on the fence about supporting her. The June poll, conducted by Bloomberg Politics among likely general election voters, found that only a little over half of Sanders backers — 55 percent — actually planned to vote for Clinton. “That is a problem for the party,” South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn said at a press conference.” (“Democrats Worry About Low Clinton Support Among Sanders Backers,” CBS News, Reena Flores, June 22 2016)

Bernie Sanders said there were “serious problems” with way Clinton handled classified info. “WOLF BLITZER: So the question is do you have confidence in the way Hillary Clinton handled classified information during her four years as secretary of state? SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: I think what the FBI report said is there were serious problems, and you know, that’s what the case is.” (“Sanders: The FBI Report Said “There Were Serious Problems” With Way Clinton Handled Classified Info,” Ian Schwartz, Real Clear Politics, July 6 2016)

Colorado Democrats misreported and withheld key information from the Sanders campaign about caucus results, costing Sanders momentum in the presidential race. “Still, Weaver expressed displeasure about how how the party reported the results. ‘It is certainly disturbing that the information gets sent to one campaign and not to another,’ he said. Palacio said he didn’t tell the Sanders camp about the divergent numbers ‘because it didn’t necessarily affect (them). It was our mistake that ended up affecting the estimation of Hillary’s campaign.’ A Clinton campaign spokeswoman declined to comment.” (“Colorado Democrats admit mistake that cost Bernie Sanders key delegate,” John Frank, The Denver Post, April 11 2016)